Lies of Death
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Teenaged Danny Morgan has never met his father, but during a trip with his friends, that will change. How will Danny react when he finally meets his father? How will Sam? And what has kept Jason away for so long?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital or any of its characters.**

**Lies of Death**

Sam watched in the doorway with her mother as her teenage son started packing for the trip he and his two friends were taking to Florida for the week. "I can't believe I agreed to this. Why did I agree to this?"

"Because your son begged you with that big puppy dog face that no one can seem to resist," Alexis said with a smirk.

"I can't believe I'm letting my baby go to Florida for a week without me. What was I thinking when I agreed to that?" Alexis asked.

Alexis chuckled. "Sam, it's going to be fine. The boys will be going with Cameron and Emma. They're both pretty mature."

"But still young. I can't believe Elizabeth and Lulu agreed to this," Sam said. Aiden, and Lulu and Dante's son, Ben, were the two younger kids going. Elizabeth was very protective of her kids since the death of Jake, so it was hard to believe she was allowing this, and Lulu and Dante were pretty protective of their only child as well.

"Like Danny, I'm sure her kids begged for this. It's going to be fine, honey," Alexis assured her.

"It's just that he's never been away from me for this long, and on the rare occasion he was without me for more than a day, he was with you. Now he's going to be hundreds of miles away with two college students," Sam said.

Just then, Danny came over with his packed bag and a huge smile on his face. "I'm all ready."

"I'm glad somebody is," Sam said. She was so not ready for this. She was not ready to send her son across the country.

"Mom, you're not changing your mind, are you? You can't change your mind," Danny said with a little worry in his voice. He and his parents had worked overtime to convince their parents to let them go with Cameron and Emma, and of course that was after convincing Cameron and Emma. His mom finally agreed after he practically begged. She couldn't take it back now. She just couldn't.

Sam sighed. She really wanted to change her mind. She wanted to keep her son home with her where she knew he'd be safe and wouldn't get into any trouble. But Danny was right, she couldn't change her mind. That would be really unfair. "No, I'm not changing my mind. I'm just having serious reservations. I'm allowed."

Danny smiled. "We'll be fine, Mom."

"You just remember the deal, okay? You do everything that Cameron and Emma say, got it?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," Danny said.

"And I want some kind of communication with you every single day, whether it be a phone call, text, or email," Sam said.

"I promise," Danny said.

"Okay," Sam said before hugging her son tightly.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Danny pulled away from his mother. "That's gotta be Ben," he said before racing out of the room.

Sam sighed and followed her son down stairs. Alexis was close behind her.

Danny opened the door to find Ben there with his parents. "Hey, Dude."

"Hey. You ready?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. Come with me to get my stuff," Danny said before leading the way to the stairs.

"Come on in, guys," Sam told Dante and Lulu.

"Why did we agree to this again?" Dante asked.

"Ugh! Don't even go there. I've been asking myself that all morning," Sam said.

"I can't believe I'm sending my baby several states away with just two college students," Lulu said.

Alexis chuckled. "Guys, calm down. It's not like they're going off to college."

Lulu's eyes widened. "Oh my God! That's going to happen in a few years."

"Baby, calm down. We're years away from that," Lulu said.

Just then there was a knock at the door. All three parents groaned.

"That's gotta be Cameron, Emma, and Aiden," Alexis said.

"Maybe if we don't answer, they'll go away," Sam said.

"They're here," Danny said as he and Ben barreled down the stairs.

"Well, there went that plan," Dante said.

Danny opened the door to find Aiden there with his brother and Emma. "Hey guys."

"Hey, you two. You ready to hit the road."

"Yeah, we're all set. See you later, Mom," Danny said.

"Not so fast," Sam said as she came over and leveled Cameron with a hard look. "Cameron, you're a good kid and all and I like you, but if anything happens to my son while he's with you, I am going to hunt you down and hurt you, badly."

Cameron gulped. "Got it, Mrs. Morgan."

The three parents hugged their kids for a few seconds, told them they loved them, and then reluctantly let them leave. "Okay, they're gone. Only seven days until they get back," Sam said.

Dante chuckled. "I guess we should go too. There's no reason for us to stick around."

"See you later, Sam," Lulu said.

"Bye," Sam said as she watched them leave.

Alexis put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "They'll be fine, honey. They're all very responsible."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Several hours later, the boys and Emma were in an exam room at the hospital room. Aiden was holding his wrist and Cameron was glaring daggers at him. "Aiden, you're an idiot! What kind of a moron do you have to be to play on luggage carts?!"

"Hey, how was I supposed to know I'd fall off and break my wrist?" Aiden asked defensively.

"You better pray it's not broken. If it's broken, we won't be able to hide it. Mom will find out and she will kill me," Cameron said in frustration. He was so screwed if that happened. He supposed it could be worse though. It could be Danny. He really believed Sam when she said she'd hunt him down.

"How are we gonna hide it from her anyway? He's fifteen! The doctors are gonna wanna contact his parents," Emma said.

Cameron groaned in frustration and started pacing. He had to figure out something. There was no way he could tell his mother that not even twenty minutes after they landing in Florida, his brother injured himself. "Okay, I know what I'll do. I'll just tell the doctor I'll call my mom. I can even pretend to do it while she's here. I'll say she agreed to let me sign anything if need be."

"And if that doesn't work? My mom barely let me come here. She'll never let me out of her sight again if she finds out about this," Danny said.

Ben nodded his agreement. His parents would be the same way.

Just then, the door opened. They all turned to see a doctor with blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

Danny gasped in shock when he saw the doctor. He'd recognize him anywhere. He'd never met him, at least not that he remembered, but he'd seen enough pictures of him to know. It was his father, Jason Morgan.


	2. Chapter 2

Doctor Jason Malcom made his way toward one of the exam rooms at the hospital he worked at. He walked inside to see a bunch of kids there. There was a boy and girl with dark hair that looked like they were in college and three younger boys who looked like they just started high school. His patient was a boy that looked to be around fifteen. It was the boy next to him that got Jason's attention thought. He had short blonde hair that kind of stuck up a little and cool blue eyes. Somehow the boy just seemed to familiar to him. He couldn't place it though.

Jason finally cleared his throat to focus on the task at hand. "Hi, everyone. I'm Doctor Malcolm." Well, that was the name he went by anyway. He didn't know his real name. He'd never known it. He woke up in a hospital many years ago with a gunshot wound and no memory of the shooting or anything before it. He'd picked his first name out of a book and just made up the last one.

Jason looked from each of the kids. They all had shocked looks on their face, no one more so than the blond boy he felt drawn to. It was kind of unnerved him. "Is something wrong?"

"Um, no. Well, my brother hurt his hand. We're afraid he might have broken it," the older boy said.

"It's probably not broken, Cameron. Maybe we should just go."

Cameron was seriously tempted to agree with his brother. This day had turned out seriously freaky. His brother's attending physician was Jason Morgan, the dead mob hit man of Port Charles. He knew who the man was and what he looked like. He remembered him a bit from when he was a child and the guy hung around with his mom. This was him. This was Danny's father. Despite all that though, he couldn't just leave. He had a responsibility to make sure Aiden was okay. "Not gonna happen, Aiden. You gotta get it looked at."

"Aiden, is it? Your brother's right. You don't wanna take chances with a possible broken limb. Let me take a look," Jason said before gently taking Jason's hand

Aiden barely winced as Jason looked at his hand. Instead, he turned to his best friend who was white as a sheet and appeared to be shaking. "Danny, you okay?"

Danny didn't answer. He physically couldn't. He couldn't form words. He was too shocked to do anything. A part of him felt like this couldn't possibly be real. It all felt like some weird dream. His dead father could not seriously be just a few feet away tending to his best friend's hand.

"Well, I don't think your hand is broken, but we should get it x-rayed anyway just to be sure. Now, where are your parents?" Jason asked.

"Uh, New York and Ireland. One's in New York and one's in Ireland," Aiden elaborated.

"We're here on like a spring break type of thing," Emma said.

"Well, I need parental consent to treat his hand," Jason said.

"Wait, Cam, didn't your mom list you as like an emergency contact in case something and no one could find her?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, I forgot about that. Is that enough?" Cameron asked. Not that it really mattered. They were going to have to call the folks in anyway. This was a freaky ass situation and Danny's mother at least would need to know about it.

Jason smiled slighted. "Don't want your parents to know, huh? Yeah, it's enough, as long as you can prove it."

"I…I think I need to get out of here," Danny said before bolting for the door.

"I'll go with him," Ben said before following his friend out of the room.

Danny was halfway down the hall before Ben caught up to him. "Danny! Danny, come on, wait up!"

Danny finally stopped and turned to his friend. "Oh, God, this can't be happening."

"Yet, somehow it is," Ben said. He'd known that guy in there was Danny's dad too. He spent a lot of time at Danny's house and he'd seen the pictures of his father.

"My dad is dead, Ben," Danny said. This was just so freaking unbelievable! His father was dead. He'd died when he was a baby. Yet, the doctor in there with his father's face said otherwise.

"Well, he didn't so dead in there," Ben commented.

"Yeah, I know. I know it's him. I've seen so many pictures. That's him. It's not just some look alike, it's him. I mean, he's older, but it's him. My dad's alive, Ben," Danny said in astonishment. Saying the words out loud had quite the effect him. It filled him with a lot of joy. All his life, he'd heard about his father. His family and his father's friends would tell him all about how great he was. It made him long very hard to meet him. Now he finally had.

With that joy came fear though. Yes, Danny had the chance to meet and maybe know his father, but what if his father didn't want to know him. What if that's why he disappeared and changed his name? What if he didn't want anything to do with him or his mother? He couldn't take that and he knew for a fact his mother couldn't.

"You should call your mom. She needs to know about this," Ben said.

Danny shook his head. "No, not yet."

"Danny…"

"Ben, my mom has spent the last fourteen years grieving for that man, a man she loved and she believed loved her. But what if she was wrong. What if the Jason Morgan in her head never existed? What if he didn't come back because he didn't want to?" Danny asked.

"Come on, do you really believe that? Everyone says your dad loved you and your mom," Ben said. Even the people who didn't like Jason Morgan agreed that he had one redeeming quality. He loved his wife and son.

"I don't know what to believe. I don't know why he didn't come home. I mean, I hope there's some explanation that would mean my dad is the wonderful guy I've heard about my whole life, but if he's not… If he just walked out on us, my mom wouldn't be able to take it. It would be worse than his death. I can't do that to her. I need to know what happened first," Danny said.

"Okay. I can't say I agree with this, but it's your family. Um, I'll go check to see how things are going with Aiden," Ben said before walking away.

Danny, meanwhile, had some work to do. He was going to put everything he learned about being a PI from his mother to find out everything he could about doctor Malcolm.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Danny was sitting in the hotel room he was sharing with Aiden and Ben. He was looking to see if he could find anything about his dad as Doctor Malcolm. He'd asked around the hospital, but he hadn't been able to find out much, other than that he was a good man and a good doctor. He didn't know if they didn't know anything or just didn't want to disclose anything to a kid.

There didn't appear to be anything on line either though. So far, Danny had come up with nothing. It was amazing because as Jason Morgan, there was extensive information about him. He supposed that came with being a mob hit man.

Danny considered his next move. He had to find out something about this guy and what he'd been up to all these years, but he was just a kid. He didn't have the resources to find that stuff out and he wasn't going to call his mom into it yet. He thought about calling his mother's former business partner and his godfather, Spinelli, but he would just tell his mom, especially if he learned that Doctor Jason Malcolm and Jason Morgan were the same person.

The next person Danny considered asking for help was his grandfather, Julian Jerome. The man was very powerful and could find out practically anything he wanted. He'd also be more willing to keep the information under wraps if Danny explained that it could hurt his mother to know. The only problem was that he only had a week to find anything out and he wasn't sure that even his grandfather could pull that one off. Still, it was his only alternative besides going to confront his dad himself, and that would be an awkward conversation.

Danny's thoughts were cut off by Ben and Aiden entering the room. They had been downstairs having breakfast and had just gotten back.

"Hey, man. We're all heading into town. "You coming?" Ben asked.

Danny shook his head. "No."

Ben sighed. "Okay, I'm going to reiterated that I think you should call your mom. She can help with all this."

"I'm not calling my mom. I'm not gonna let her get hurt," Danny said.

"So what's your next move?" Aiden asked.

"I'm not sure. Look, you guys just go. There's no reason for your vacation to be ruined just because my dad appears to have come back from the dead," Danny said. There was a sentence he never thought he'd say.

"Well, if you're sure. We'll see you later," Aiden said before he and Ben walked out of the room.

Danny sighed and took out his phone. He dialed a familiar number and waited.

"_Julian Jerome."_

"Hey, Grandpa, it's me," Danny said.

"_Danny? Is everything okay? Your mother told me you were in Florida for the week," _Julian said.

"Yeah, I am, but something came up. I need your help and I need it to be done fast," Danny said,

"_What's wrong?" _ Julian asked.

"First, I need you to promise me something. You can't tell my mom about this, not yet anyway," Danny said.

"_Danny, you're starting to concern me. What's going on?" _ Julian demanded to know.

"I need you to look into someone for me. His name's Doctor Jason Malcolm and he works at a hospital in Miami," Danny said.

"_And why are you interested in him? Has he hurt you, Danny? Because if he's hurt you, I swear…"_

"No! No, Grandpa, it's nothing like that," Danny said quickly. He could practically see his grandfather ordering the hit against his father. "Look, I just need to know about him."

"_Yes, you've said, but you won't tell me why," _Julian stated.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Danny said. He could just picture the man if told him he found his dead father alive and working as a doctor in Miami. His grandfather would think he was crazy and he would definitely tell his mother. "Can you please just trust me? It's important.

"_Alright. When do you need the information by?" _ Julian asked.

"Before I'm due to leave Florida," Danny said.

"A week is not a lot of time, Danny, but I'll do my best," Julian said.

"Thanks, Grandpa. And remember, you can't tell Mom," Danny stressed.

Julian sighed on the other end of the line. _"I won't tell her right now, but depending on what I find out, I may have to. If this man is somehow a threat to you, she deserves to know."_

"He's not," Danny insisted.

"_Still, I can't promise you I'll remain quiet once I find out. You're just going to have to accept that," _Julian said with a bit of sternness in his voice.

Danny sighed. He didn't like it, but he knew what when to stop pushing. "Okay."

"_Alright, give me the information again."_

Danny quickly gave his grandfather all the information he had on 'Doctor Malcolm', including the hospital he worked at. "Thanks for doing this, Grandpa. I'll talk to you later. Bye," he said before hanging up the phone.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jason was in his office at the hospital doing paperwork. "Well, he was trying to do paperwork, but his mind kept wandering to the kids from the day before. Actually, it was just one of them he was thinking about. The blond boy. He just couldn't get him out of his head. From the moment he saw him, he felt this weird connection. He felt like he should know him,

Jason was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Jason's friend and colleague, Doctor Chris Parker walked in. "Hey, man.

"Hey, Chris. What's up?"

"I came to ask you that. You've been distracted all day," Chris said.

"No, I haven't," Jason lied.

Chris gave him a look.

"Alright, fine, maybe a little. Look, these kids came in last night. One of them had a sprained wrist, there was this other kid there. He left me with this weird feeling, like I knew him," Jason explained.

"Maybe you did. We both know with you it's possible," Chris said.

Jason nodded. That was certainly true. He had no history going back more than fourteen years, at least none that he could remember. He couldn't recall anything past waking up in the hospital and being told he was shot. "Yeah, I guess it's possible, but how likely is it? That kid can't be older than fifteen. That would've made him a baby when I was shot. I wouldn't be able to remember him. Though I shouldn't remember anyone anyway." When he was examined fourteen years ago, he was found to have extensive damage to his frontal lobe. He was told he'd never remember.

Chris thought for a minute. "You know, I was talking to the nurses earlier. Apparently, there was a kid looking for information about you."

"Blond?" Jason asked.

"I don't know, but it seems coincidental for it not to be the same kid," he said.

Jason sat back in his chair. "I have to find him. I have to see that kid again."


	4. Chapter 4

A few days later, Danny was with Aiden back in the emergency room. He'd convinced his friend to go back and say his hand hurt more than it should. He just wanted to see and speak to his dad again. He couldn't wait for his grandfather. He wanted to get a feel for him now.

"What am I supposed to say?" Aiden asked.

"Just say it hurts more. He'll probably just think you're a complainer. Look, I just wanna talk to him. He's my dad. I wanna know what he's like," Danny said.

Just then, Jason walked into the room. He was relieved when he saw the blond kid from before sitting there. When the nurses told him that his patient from a few days with the sprained wrist was there, he was hoping the other boy would be there. He would finally get the chance to speak to him again. "Hey. It's Aiden, right? How are you doing today?"

"Hi. Look, my hand has been hurting a lot. I'm just wondering if it's normal," Aiden said.

"Well, a sprain can be quite painful, sometimes even worse than a break. Let's have a look," Jason said as he began carefully taking the bandages off. He glanced over at the other boy. "I, uh, didn't catch your name last time."

"I…It's Danny. Danny Morgan" he said awkwardly. He was suddenly very shy, which was strange because he wasn't a very shy person. He wasn't a very talkative one either, but he wasn't shy. But he supposed your father coming back from the dead could do that to you.

Once again, Jason felt a sense of déjà vu. That name felt like something Jason should know. It was strange because he wasn't big on feelings. He was a doctor, which made him very practical and big on logic. Feelings and senses like this didn't play a part in that. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Danny."

Danny couldn't help but be a little disappointed. He'd thought he'd saw a glimmer of recognition from his father, but it disappeared as quickly as it came, making Danny think that he imagined it.

"Well, your hand looks like it's healing the way it's supposed to, Aiden. It will cause you quite a bit of pain, but that's what the pain killers I prescribed you are for," Jason explained.

"I guess I was being a little paranoid. Sorry about that," Aiden said.

"Hey, it's no problem. I'd rather you be paranoid and proven wrong than ignore it and find out too late that it wasn't healing right," Jason said as he grabbed another set of bandages and began redressing the hand.

Aiden hissed a little in pain. His hand really did hurt quite a bit.

"So where are you guys from?" Jason asked as nonchalantly as possible. He knew from last time that the boys were here on vacation and he wanted to know where Danny lived. He planned to look some things up later so he could try to pinpoint how he knew the boy. Because he was becoming more and more sure that he did.

"New York. Port Charles," Danny said.

Jason nodded. "Alright, well, you're all set, Aiden. Just do your best to treat your wrist with care, and when you're home in a couple of weeks, make sure you see another doctor to make sure it continues to heal right."

"Thanks, Doctor Malcolm," Aiden said.

Jason nodded and looked over at Danny. He wanted to say more to the kid, but he wasn't sure what to say. He still didn't have much in way of answers as to how he knew the kid. He could ask him about why he had been asking about him, but he didn't have any proof that it was Danny and he didn't wanna scare him away. "Okay, enjoy the rest of your vacation," he said before walking out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Sam had just gotten off the elevator and was headed to her penthouse when she saw her father, Julian Jerome right outside her door. She and Julian had a pretty good relationship now, but she still got nervous every time he showed up unexpectedly. It never ended well. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you, Sam," Julian said as he held up a folder. That was everything he'd managed to learn about Jason Malcolm. He'd gotten it all as he promised Danny, but he couldn't in good conscious share it with Danny until he shared it with Sam like he wanted. Sam needed to know the truth.

"What's that?" Sam asked nervously.

"Can we go inside? This is kind of a delicate situation," Julian said. His daughter's dead husband had turned out not to be dead after all. If that wasn't delicate, he didn't know what was.

Sam nodded and immediately went to the door to unlock the door. Once she did that, she led her father inside. Once they were both inside, she closed the door. "Okay, what's going on?"

Julian sighed. "I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this. It's going to be hard to believe,"

"Just say it. I mean, did somebody get hurt?" Sam asked. There were a thousand scenarios going through her head right now, each more terrifying than the last. She just wanted to know what it was so she could figure out how to deal with it.

"No, nothing like that. It's good. Well, okay, there is a depressing element to it," Julian said. San was going to be overjoyed to find out that her husband was alive, but her mood would at least be slightly sobered when she found out he had no memory of her and probably never would.

"Tell me," Sam pushed.

"Okay. A few days ago, Danny called me," Julian said.

"Danny? Danny's involved in this?" Sam asked in surprise and some worry.

"Yeah. He called and asked me to look into a docto for him."

"What? Why? And why am I just hearing about this now?" Sam asked irritably. She should've been notified the moment her father got off the phone with Danny.

"I'm sorry, Sam. He begged me not to say anything. He seemed desperate, but not in trouble, so I agreed. Look, I'm telling you now because it's something you need to know about," Julian said.

"Well, what is it? Why is Danny so interested in this doctor?" Sam asked.

"He wouldn't tell me. When I got the information, I understood why. Look, rather than tell you, I'll let you see for yourself. Brace yourself, Sam," Julian said before handing her the folder.

Sam took the file and read the name on it. It said 'Doctor Jason Malcolm'. The name 'Jason' automatically made Sam think of her husband, but she quickly pushed that aside.

Sam opened the file and gasped in shock. The first thing she saw was a picture. It was her dead husband.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam collapsed in the chair at the desk by the door. She continued to stare at the picture in shock. The picture of her dead husband. Only he wasn't dead. He was very much alive in this photo, even if he did look much different. And boy did he look different. The Jason she knew wore all black and looked very dangerous. This version of her husband was dressed in lighter colors and had a happy disposition about him. It reminded her of the pictures she'd seen of Jason at the Quartermaines. It was hard to believe that this was her Jason. But it was him. There was no doubt whatsoever about that.

Julian looked at his daughter worriedly. She hadn't spoken in several minutes. "Sam, are you okay?"

"I…I don't understand this. How can this be possible?" Sam asked in a state of shock.

"Well, according to that file, he was brought to a hospital in Florida. He doesn't know how he got there and no one I've talked to can figure it out. When he woke up, he had no memory of anything," Julian explained.

That made some sense to Sam. She knew Jason would never stay away from her and Danny if there was a choice. Him having no memory was about the only thing that she could come up with, and it certainly made sense with his change in careers.

"Sam, look at me," Julian said.

Sam reluctantly turned her gaze away from the picture of her husband and onto her father.

"It's all in there, but I think you should hear it from me. Jason was diagnosed with severe brain damage after he was found. His doctors don't think he's ever going to remember," Julian said.

"That's from a car accident he was in when he was in college," Sam said. She supposed Jason could've suffered some brain damage from being submerged in the water for too long, but most of it was probably from the original brain injury.

"Maybe, but there's a good chance that he did suffer damage due to lack of oxygen after being pushed into the harbor. The point I'm trying to make is that while your husband is alive, he doesn't and probably never will remember you," Julian said as gently as he could.

"I don't care," Sam said. Okay, so that wasn't true. She cared. She wanted Jason to remember her of course, but given that yesterday she thought her husband was dead, the rest was all trivial. Her husband was alive. She would be able to see and touch him. That was all that mattered. Even if he didn't want to be with her any longer, it would be okay because he was alive.

The thought finally began to sink in. Jason was alive. For the first time in fourteen years, she could actually breathe again. Her husband was alive. Her son would finally have the chance to meet and know his father.

"I know you may not care right now, Sam, but eventually you're gonna. Eventually, you will care that your husband doesn't remember you," Julian said.

"I need to go to Florida," Sam said simply. She needed to go and see her husband. She needed to see in person that he was there and okay. And then there was also Danny. He was in Florida dealing with all this on his own. She had to go and help him too.

"I understand, but first I think you need to read that entire file and let it sink in," Julian said. Sam was in a state of shock right now. She was not considering all the circumstances. She didn't realize yet that it wasn't going to be as simple as going to Florida and bringing her husband home. That he wasn't the same man that she'd lost fourteen years earlier.

"I'll have plenty of time on the flight there. I have to go. My husband and son need me," Sam said as she stood up. She immediately made a beeline for the stairs to go pack, but Julian stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Sam, stop and think for a minute. I know you wanna go to Jason, but you have to consider that he's not the same. He's not the same, Sam. The man you married was Jason Morgan. He was mob hit man. This man is Jason Malcolm. He's a doctor and he doesn't remember you or Danny," Julian said.

Sam shook her head. "It doesn't matter. My husband is alive. And, yeah, he doesn't remember me and might never. And, yes, he has a different life than the man I married. But all of that pales in comparison to me thinking he was dead. Aside from when Danny was sick, that is the worst thing that I've ever had to deal with. I wished for this day for fourteen years. I don't care what he remembers or how different he might be. My nightmare has finally ended. That's all I care about right now."

"Okay. You can take my plane. I'll call ahead and have everything set up. You'll be able to leave whenever you're ready," Julian said.

"Thank you, Dad," Sam said. She didn't call him that often, but when he did something like this, she felt he deserved it.

Julian nodded and took out his phone to make the call.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jason was sitting at home staring at his computer screen. He was supposed to be trying to find out about Danny and his life, but he was reluctant. He'd always been reluctant. For fourteen years, he'd avoided this moment.

It wasn't that Jason didn't wanna know about his former life. Well, actually, it was that. After waking up in the hospital and being told he was shot, he wondered what his life had to be like to bring him to that point. Most people who got shot didn't have model citizen lives. Sure, there were some people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but in most cases, you got shot because you got mixed up with the wrong type of people. He wasn't very eager to learn who he was involved with. So when the doctors told him he wouldn't remember, he didn't push too hard

Now it was different though. A piece of his former life may have just walked into his present one and there was nothing bad about him. Danny represented something he'd always longed for, family. He felt like Danny was his family, but even if he wasn't, he couldn't help but think maybe someone was. He had to know. He had to know about Danny and anyone else he might have known, even if a lot of it did turn out to be bad.

Jason took a deep breath and typed 'Port Charles' and 'Morgan' into the search engine. He pressed 'search' and watched as a bunch of links popped up. The first was an old news article that said 'Mob enforcer killed on peer'.

Jason had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach as he clicked on the link. His fears were confirmed as he opened the page and was faced with a picture of himself. He was dressed in a black shirt, a pair of jeans, and a leather coat. The thing he was most concentrated on was the look on his face. He looked cold and dangerous.

Jason began reading the article. According to this, his name was Jason Morgan and he'd been working for Mob boss Michael Corinthos Jr., also known as Sonny Corinthos. He worked as a hit man for Corinthos.

"Oh my God," Jason said in horror. For fourteen years, he'd worried that his past wasn't something he would be proud of and he was right. He killed people for a living. He was more than a criminal, he was a murderer.

Jason wanted to stop. He wanted to close the computer and forget he ever saw this. He wanted to pretend this man was not him. He wanted no part of Jason Morgan. But Danny's face kept appearing in his mind. He had to find out about Danny.

He scrolled down to where it talked about his 'death' and started reading aloud. "'Jason Morgan finally met his end when called to a peer by the Corinthos Organization's accountant. Both Morgan and the accountant were shot to death by Cesar Faison. Morgan was pushed into the harbor after being shot. His body was never recovered',"

Jason took in the information. That actually made a little bit more sense with the brain damage he suffered. You didn't get brain damage from a bullet unless it was to the head, but you could get it from lack of oxygen after being pushed into the water.

Jason went on reading to see what else he could find out. "'Morgan leaves behind a wife, Samantha McCall Morgan and a five-month-old D…Daniel Edward Morgan."

Jason stared at the computer in shock. He had a son. All his feelings over the last few days were true. Danny was his son.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny was laying on his bed in the hotel room staring at his phone. He was getting really antsy for his phone to ring. They only had one day left before they had to return to Port Charles. He couldn't leave without knowing about his father and what had happened to him.

Soon, Danny heard Ben's voice. "Dude, stop staring at that thing and come to the beach with us."

Danny looked up to see his two best friends in bathing suits and tee-shirts with towels around their shoulders. "No, it's fine. You guys go ahead.

"Come on, man, it's the last day. You could try to have a little bit of fun. Sitting here and doing nothing isn't going to help anything," Ben said.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"That's probably Cam. I'll get it," Aiden said before going to answer the door.

"Look, I'm not gonna be any fun. I'll just be a downer on your good time. I'm just gonna sit here for a while and wait for my grandfather to call. If he doesn't, I'm gonna go to the hospital and ask my dad personally why he never came home," Danny said. It wasn't really an option he loved, but he couldn't just leave without knowing what happened.

"Mrs. Morgan," Aiden had said when he opened the door.

Danny's eyes widened in shock and horror when he heard his friend. He scrambled off of the bed and over to the front door where he found his mother on the other side. "Mom."

"Danny," Sam said as she walked inside.

Aiden closed the door behind her. "Mrs. Morgan, what are you doing here?"

Sam turned to look at him and got a look at his bandaged covered hand. She hadn't noticed that when he first opened the door. "Aiden, what happened to your hand?"

Aiden looked at his hand and then back at Sam like he'd just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Um… I, uh… Okay, I had a little mishap at the airport when we got here. It's not a big deal. Doc says it's just a sprain."

Sam looked over at her son. "So this is how you found out." It wasn't a big stretch. Jason was probably the doctor to look at Aiden's hand. That had to be how they learned he was alive

Danny sighed and closed his eyes. "You know?"

Sam nodded. "Boys, would you give us a minute."

"Yeah, sure. We'll go see if Cam and Emma are ready to go," Aiden said. He and Ben then headed for the door.

"Oh, Aiden? If you had any thoughts of trying to hide your injury from your mother, think again," Sam said. She didn't like Elizabeth Webber, but she was Aiden's mother and as another mother, Sam owed it to her to let her know that her son was injured.

Aiden grimaced and walked out the door.

"Did Grandpa tell you?" Danny asked once his friends had left. He assumed his grandfather had to be the one. Aside from his friends, his grandfather was the only other person who knew.

"Did you really think he wouldn't? Danny, why didn't you tell me? You should've called me the second you saw him?" Sam lectured. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why her son had kept this from her. Why hadn't he told her right away? Did he think she wouldn't believe him or something?

"I was afraid to. I didn't know what happened. He had been gone for my entire life. Now all of a sudden he shows up at some hospital in Florida as a doctor. I wanted to know what happened to cause that before I told you, just in case he just ditched us. I was afraid that would hurt you more than his death ever did," Danny explained.

"Oh my God! You thought that? Oh, sweetheart," she said before pulling her son into her arms. She held him tightly for a couple of minutes before pulling away. She then led him over to the bed and they both sat down. "Danny, that was never a possibility, ever. Your father loved you and me more than anything in the world. If you had told me, I could've told you that right away. When I found out, no part of me thought for one second that he chose to stay away."

"But what if you're wrong? What if he didn't want us?" Danny asked. He was terrified of that, not just for his mother, but also for himself. He'd always wanted to know his father. What if his father didn't wanna know him?"

"I'm not wrong. I don't need anything to tell me that Jason didn't stay away on his own, but I have it anyway. Your grandfather got the information. Your father didn't come home because he couldn't remember us," Sam told him.

"But how would that happen? He didn't hit his head or anything. He was shot," Danny said confused.

"But he was pushed into the water. We don't know how long it was before he was pulled out. He could've been without oxygen for a long time. That can cause a lot of brain problems, and your dad already had a lot of problems with his brain," Sam explained.

"So he really doesn't remember us?" Danny asked.

"No, he doesn't. I hope he will one day, but right now, he doesn't remember anything about his life," Sam said.

"So what does this mean?" Danny asked.

"Right now it means I have to talk to him. I have to explain things to him and hope we can all find a way to get through this," Sam said. She was really anxious about that. She had absolutely no idea how Jason was going to respond when she told him who she was.

"He's not like how you described, Mom. He's not like how anyone described. He even looks different from his pictures. Well, except for maybe the ones that are at Grandma Monica's," Danny said.

"I know. I've seen a picture of how he is now. He looks a lot different than what he looked like before. He probably is different than he was before. But he's alive and that's what we have to think about," Sam said. That was what she was trying to think about. She was trying not to think about how much he must have changed or that he didn't remember. She could deal with that later. Right now, the only that was important was that he was alive.

"So you're going to see him?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you first," Sam said.

"I wanna come," Danny said.

"Honey, no. I have to do this alone. Your father and I have a lot to talk about and I don't want you there for that," Sam said. She had no idea how Jason would react to what she had to say to him. He might not take it well at first, and if that was the case, she didn't want Danny there.

"But…"

"Danny, I promise you'll get to see him again, but right now, I have to be alone with your father. You go hang out with your friends. Something tells me you didn't have much of a good time this week," Sam said before standing up.

Danny stood up as well. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll call you when I get back, okay?"

"Okay," Danny said reluctantly. He still wanted to go, but he knew his mother had made up her mind.

"I'll see you soon," Sam said before walking towards the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jason was in his office at the hospital staring off into space. His mind was on everything he'd learned last night. He was still absolutely disgusted with the person he was back then. He was a murderer for God's sake. How could he have done those things. How could he have taken so many lives all in the name of work? There had to be something better he could do with his life. He knew there was in fact because he was doing it now. He was a doctor. He helped people. How in the world could he have gone from taking lives to saving them?

But there had to be at least some good in his life. There was Danny and his wife. He still couldn't believe it. He had a wife and son. That boy he'd met this week was his son. It wasn't hard to believe when he thought about him. Danny looked a lot like him. He had his hair color and eye color. The eyes were uncanny. They were the exact same shade of blue as his own. The boy really looked exactly like he did at that age. Of course, that was just speculation because Jason didn't remember what he looked like at Danny's age.

Jason started to wonder about his wife. He wondered what she was like. He knew her name was Samantha and he'd seen a photo of her while he was online, but that was about it. He knew nothing about her personality. He didn't know how they met or when they got married or what their wedding was like. He couldn't remember. And for the first time, that bothered him. In the past, he never really cared about remembering. He didn't want to because he was afraid that the memories would be bad. But now it was different. He had a wife and son and he wanted to remember them, even if that meant remembering the horribleness of what he once was.

Jason suddenly opened bottom desk drawer and pulled out a file with his name on it. He flipped through a bunch of pages with medical reports and brain scans until he came to a small piece of paper with a name and number on it. It belonged to one of the top neurosurgeons in the country, who ironically was working in Port Charles, New York. It had been offered to him right after his initial diagnosis fourteen years ago. He'd never bothered with it because a, he had been told that this doctor being able to offer him any hope of remembering was a long shot, and b, he didn't wanna remember at the time.

Jason picked up his phone and dialed the number. He then waited patiently until someone answered. "Yes, this is Doctor Jason Malcolm from Miami Memorial. I need to speak with Doctor Patrick Drake. Yes, I'll hold."

A few minutes later, a male voice was heard. _"This is Doctor Drake."_

"Yes, Doctor Drake, hi. My name is Doctor Jason Malcolm. I work at Miami Memorial," Jason told him.

"_Hi. Are you calling in a referral?"_ he asked.

"Yes, but not for a patient. It's for myself. I was diagnosed with brain damage and permanent amnesia in late 2012. I was given your name as a referral," Jason said.

"_2012? You're a bit late, aren't you?"_

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I am. I wasn't sure it was worth meeting with you just to hear that the neurologist I spoke with was right. I've received some information about my past that makes it worth it. I realize that I am very late with this, but I'm hoping you'll still be willing to consult."

"_Well, last I heard, there's no statute of limitations on a referral, so sure. How soon can you get to Port Charles?" _he asked.

"I can be there within a couple of days," Jason said. He had to cover things with the hospital, which could take a day or two.

"_Hang on, let me pull up my calendar. Okay, how about Monday. I have an opening at three."_

Jason heard someone knock on his door. "Come in," he said before going back to his phone conversation. "That would be great. You want my file beforehand?"

"_Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Is it the same hospital?" _the other doctor asked.

"Yeah, but you don't have to go through all that. I have a copy. I can fax you everything myself,' Jason said.

"_Perfect. I'll see you Monday."_

"See you then. Thank you, Doctor Drake," Jason said before hanging up. He then turned around to see who had come in to see him. He was met with a picture of a beautiful dark haired woman. He knew who she was immediately. He'd seen her picture online. This was his wife.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam was almost frozen in spot when she finally came face to face with her husband. It was so weird seeing him again and seeing how different he was, even look wise. He was wearing a light blue button down shirt with of course the white lab coat. She'd seen the pictures, but it was much different than seeing him in person.

Jason was shocked as well. He hadn't been expecting to see the woman in his office, but what really got him was the feeling he got from her. It was very similar to the one he got from Danny. He felt an instant connection. He knew her emotionally and he felt she belonged in his life. "Hi."

"You know who I am," Sam said. It wasn't a question. She could see some kind of recognition in his eyes, though she wasn't sure how that was possible.

Jason nodded.

"I…I was told you didn't remember," Sam said.

"I don't. After talking to Danny, I looked up some things. I saw a picture of you," Jason said.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. How'd you know to look me up though?" Sam wondered.

"I didn't. When I met Danny, I felt some kind of connection to him. Something in me knew that I knew him. Once I realized that, I had to find out how. I had his last name and where he was from, I plugged it into a search engine," Jason said.

Sam nodded. She could tell where it went from there. She could only imagine what he'd learned from that, probably things he didn't wanna that, probably things he didn't wanna learn.

Things were quiet for a few moments before Jason finally broke the silence. "I, um… I'm not sure what to say."

"Neither am I," Sam said as she sat down in one of the chairs across from her husband. "It's funny actually. I've dreamt about this moment every night for fourteen years and now that it's here, I don't know what to say."

"Well, in your defense, I probably remembered you in your dream," Jason said.

Sam chuckled "Yeah, you did. I've been trying not to think about that too much. I've been trying just to be happy that you're alive. But…"

"But it's hard to not think about it when I'm sitting in front of you and have no idea who you are," Jason finished for her.

"Yeah," Sam said. He was right. Now that she was sitting there just a few feet away from her husband, it was really hitting. Her husband didn't know her. The only thing she knew was that she was his wife. He didn't know anything personally about her. To be fair though, she didn't know much about him either. Despite the fact that she had her memories of him, she didn't know the man in front of her. He was much different.

"Look, Sam… Oh, God, is it Sam? That just seemed right so…"

"It is. It's Sam," she said with a smile.

Jason sighed in relief. At least he had that right. "Look, I'm really sorry for this. I know this can't be easy for you."

"It's not your fault, Jason. You didn't ask to get shot," Sam said.

"In a way I did, didn't I? I chose that life," Jason said. He couldn't get over that. He couldn't understand why he would chose to become a killer for a living.

"So you know about what you did for a living," Sam said. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. He did look himself up online. There were probably a lot of colorful things there for him to discover.

"Yeah. I kind of always knew something wasn't right about how I used to be. After all, most law abiding citizens don't get shot. That's why remembering was never that important to me before," Jason said.

"You didn't wanna remember?" Sam asked. That hurt. She knew it shouldn't since Jason didn't even know she existed until recently, but it did.

Jason seemed to guess what she was thinking. "Please don't take it personally. I didn't know anything about my life. I didn't know about you and Danny. All I l knew was that I'd been shot for reasons that couldn't have been good. But when I found out about you, I did wanna remember. I even made an appointment with a specialist."

"Yeah, I know. I heard you on the phone with Patrick Drake," Sam said. She assumed it was Patrick anyway. Jason had called him 'Doctor Drake'.

"You know him?" Jason asked. He wasn't too surprised. They were from the same town after all.

"Yeah, he's a friend. He's good. If anyone can help you, it's him," Sam said. She really hoped Patrick could help. She wanted Jason to remember her and Danny.

"So do I, but you shouldn't get your hopes up. I was diagnosed with brain damage. I might never remember.," Jason said. He was saying it both for her benefit and his own. He couldn't afford to forget that this was a long shot.

"Uh, that's actually not all from the shooting and nearly drowning. You were in a car accident when you were young. You were thrown from the car and suffered severe brain damage. You lost your memory and had a personality change, along with other issues," Sam explained.

Jason considered the information. That changed things. A good portion of the damage might have been from the accident. "Well, that's a little more promising then. I'll need to get the original records to Drake"

"He's got them already. He treated you subsequent problems," Sam said.

just then, Jason's pager went off. He immediately looked at it. "I'm sorry, I have to go. You're welcome to wait if you want."

Sam nodded.

Jason stood up and left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam was sitting alone in Jason's office. It had been about an hour since Jason left. She assumed he had a problem with a patient. God that was weird to think about. Her husband had left to see a patient. Her husband was a doctor. That wasn't something she ever thought she'd say. Well, except for maybe when she was dating Silas. She never thought it would be true of Jason though.

Monica would be happy, Sam was sure. Her son had finally followed in her footsteps, just as the Jason before the accident originally intended. Sam knew a piece of Monica longed for that. Oh, she'd accepted Jason as he was before the shooting and she loved him, but a piece of her longed for the son she'd raised. It was almost like she had two sons in Jason and one of them was dead.

Sam wondered briefly if that was what it was gonna be like for her if Jason never remembered. Would she have to treat this Jason like he was a completely different person? Would she have to accept that the man she married really had died fourteen-years-ago? Could she even do that? Could she forget about the Jason she used to know and find a way to move on with this one? And would he even want that?

Sam also remembered what would happen if he did remember. It wouldn't be like it was last time. If Jason remembered, he would have two sets of memories. He would have his memories as Jason Morgan, the hit man, and as Jason Malcolm, the doctor. Who would he be if that happened? Could he really go back as if the past fourteen years never happened? Sam kind of doubted it. You couldn't just shut off a part of your life.

Sam was pulled from her thoughts when the door opened. She turned to see that Jason had returned.

"Sorry about that. Car accident victims just came in. It got hectic," Jason said.

"It's okay. I guess it comes with the territory of being a doctor," Sam said.

"Yeah, it does," Jason said as he went over and sat down in the chair behind his desk.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sam asked.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"Why did you decide to become a doctor?" Sam asked.

"Well, when I woke up and found out I was shot, I couldn't help but wonder about the kind of person I had to be to have gotten shot. It unnerved me. I didn't wanna be the kind of person that people wanted to shoot. I wanted to be the kind of person that would help others. I got close to a doctor here and I decided to see how I would take to medicine. I liked it, so I decided to go all the way with it. I was probably one the oldest guys in med school, but it was worth it," Jason explained.

"You know your parents were doctors too. You had intended to follow in their footsteps before the car accident happened," Sam told him.

"Can you tell me about that? I wanna know what happened to change my life the first time around," Jason said.

"Well, I wasn't around at the time, but I do know a little about it. You'd gotten into a car with your brother. He was drunk and you were trying to stop him from driving. He crashed the car and you were thrown from it. Your head hit a tree and you suffered a severe head injury. There was a lot of damage. Like I said, I wasn't around, but I've heard how different you were before the accident," Sam explained.

Jason nodded. "TBIs can be very complicated. If the damage is to the frontal lobe, it can cause serious personality shifts and certainly memory problems. It can literally change the outcome of your entire life."

"And it appears it's done it again," Sam said.

"Yeah, it has. Look, I'm gonna be honest with you. The person I am now can't completely be sorry for most of those changes. When I think about that article I read last night, it took me to a place that I don't wanna be," Jason said honestly. A part of him hated himself when he read that. He didn't wanna be the type of person that could kill people for a living. Hell, he didn't wanna be the kind of person who could kill people period.

"Jason, that article doesn't tell the whole story about who you were," Sam said. She understood why he felt the way he did, but she wanted him to see that he really was a great person. He wasn't just some soulless killer like most people tended to think.

"Maybe not, but it tells a lot of it. I was a mob hit man and that's not easy for me to accept. A large part of me wants to forget all that. It's why I didn't wanna remember in the first place, because I was afraid of what I'd remember. I still am. But you and Danny make it worth it. The moment I saw Danny, I knew I was supposed to know him. I felt the same way when I saw you. I can't remember either of you, but I know I should. I know you were important to me," Jason said.

Sam smiled at that. She was glad to hear that even if Jason couldn't consciously remember them, he recognized her and Danny as family deep down. She still wanted him to remember, but it did mean something to her that they still mattered to him. "Thank you for saying that. It means a lot."

"Can I meet him? Can I meet Danny officially, I mean. As his father," Jason asked. He'd technically met Danny, but that was before he knew who the kid was to him a. He wanted to meet the boy as his father.

"Of course. I want you to and so does he. He wanted to come with me today, but I thought I should do this alone. You can see him whenever you want. Just name a time," Sam said

"Well, I get off at five. Is that okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, that would be great. I'll come back then and we can go to the hotel," Sam said as she stood up to leave. She didn't wanna leave her husband so soon after being reunited with him, but she couldn't stay there all day. Jason had a job to do.

"Okay," Jason said.

Sam looked at him for a minute before walking out of the office.


	9. Chapter 9

Danny got back to the hotel at just after five that day. He'd gone to the beach with the others, and to his surprise, he actually had a good time. Cameron had taught him and Ben how to search. Aiden was bummed because he couldn't do it on account of his hand, but all and all, it had been a good day. Danny had even forgotten momentarily about the fact that his father came back from the dead and had no memory of him or his mother.

"Man, was that cool or what?" Ben asked.

"Well, it was for you two," Aiden said.

"Come on, you had fun too. Even if you were a bit limited," Ben said.

"Yeah, I guess," Aiden asked.

"You had a good time, right, Danny? This is the most I've seen you relaxed all week," Ben said.

Danny nodded. It was true. He'd been anxious all week due to seeing his not so dead father. It wasn't until today that he began to relax. It wasn't just going out with his friends either. It was mostly his mother's presence that had changed things. He hadn't wanted her to know until he knew the story behind his father's new life, but the truth was he needed her. He needed her there to tell him everything would be okay.

"Well, I think I'm gonna hit the shower. I've got sand everywhere," Ben said before heading for the bathroom.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Danny immediately went to open it and found his mother on the other side. "Mom."

"Hey, sweetie. Sorry, I didn't call. I know I said I would, but I wanted you to have a good time with your friends. I didn't want you to be anxiously waiting for us," Sam said.

"Us?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, us," Sam said.

Just then, Jason came into view from behind the corner.

Danny stared at his father. It was like he was frozen there. It wasn't the first time he'd seen his father, but this time would be different. This time the man knew who he was.

"Can we come in," Sam asked. Her son was blocking the entrance.

"Oh, right," Danny said before stepping inside.

Sam and Jason walked inside. "Hi, Aiden," Sam said.

"Hi, Mrs. Morgan. You know, I haven't bugged Cam in a while. I think I'm gonna go do that now," Aiden said before making a hasty retreat out of the room.

Sam went over and put her hands on her son's shoulders. "Danny, this is your father. Jason, this is our son, Daniel Edward Morgan."

Jason smiled at the boy. He was extremely happy right now. He'd always wanted a son. True, he didn't think if he had one he'd be meeting him for the first time as a teenager, but he was happy nonetheless. "Hey, Danny. It's good to see you again."

"H…hi," Danny stuttered. He wasn't sure how to respond to this. It was still just so strange.

"I guess this is weird for you, huh?" Jason asked. It was weird for him, albeit good, so he could only imagine what it was like for a fourteen-year-old.

"Yeah, kind of. I thought you were dead. That was what I was told all my life. That you died when I was a baby," Danny said.

"And then I show up alive years later and treating your friend for a sprained wrist," Jason said. He definitely understood how it could freak Danny out just a little bit.

"Yeah, it was kind of shocking. I guess this is all just as shocking for you," Danny said. He'd at least had the advantage of knowing who his father was when he saw him. His dad didn't have that. He'd just learned who he was.

"Well, not completely. It's true I don't remember you, but when I saw you, something inside me felt like I should know you," Jason said.

"Really?" Danny asked with a smile. That made him really happy. His father might not have remembered him, but a part of him did know him.

"Yeah, really," Jason said.

"Hey, why don't we sit down? We can all sit down and talk," Sam said before leading her son over to one of the beds and sitting them both down.

Jason sat on the bed across from them.

"So can I ask you some questions?" Danny asked his father.

"Yeah, sure. You can ask me anything," Jason said.

"Do you have any other kids?" Danny asked.

"Danny," Sam admonished. That was a hell of a question to come out with, even though she couldn't help but want the answer as well.

"No, it's okay. He has the right to know. I'd wanna know if I were him. No, I don't have any other children. I always wanted kids, but I never found the right person to have them with," Jason said before looking at Sam. "At least not that I could remember."

"So you don't have a girlfriend either?" Danny asked.

"No. The truth is I've been mostly married to my career," Jason said. He'd had no reason not to be. He didn't really have anything outside of the hospital, not until now anyway.

Danny nodded and looked between his parents. "So what's gonna happen now?"

"Well, your father has an appointment with Patrick Drake on Monday to see if he can remember, but it's not a sure thing," Sam said. She didn't wanna get her son's hopes up that Jason would remember them.

"But even if I don't rember, I'm gonna be around for you. You're my son and I want us to have a relationship. You with me?" Jason asked as he held his hand out for the boy.

Danny immediately took his hand. "Yeah."


	10. Chapter 10

Sam, Jason, and Danny made it back to Port Charles and to the penthouse at around one-thirty on Monday. The other kids had left the day before because they all had to be back for school, but Sam had been unwilling to leave without Jason and he had to figure things out at the hospital he worked out.

Sam had of course asked the others not to say anything to their parents just yet. That news should come from them and certain people needed to know first, like Monica. Unfortunately, Sam wouldn't have time to tell her before his meeting with Patrick, but she should at least be one of the first people to know.

"I'm gonna go unpack," Danny said before taking his bags upstairs.

Sam turned to Jason. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna bring my bag upstairs," she said before following her son upstairs.

Jason surveyed the room a little before dropping his bag and going over to the mantle where a bunch of photographs were. The first picture he saw was of him, Sam, and a baby that he assumed was Danny. The next was of him and Sam. He had his arm around her and he was smiling slightly. It was obvious by the picture that he loved her. The next few pictures were of a small boy; again he figured that it had to be Danny. In some of them, he was with Sam, some were of him alone or with his friends, and some were with people Jason didn't recognize.

It was the very last picture that got Jason curious. It was of a little boy, but he didn't think it was Danny. He looked similar to Danny, but not quite the same. He had a different shade of blonde hair and just looked different. But he did give Jason a similar feeling to the one he got from Danny. That and the fact that the boy looked so much like him made him wonder if the boy was his son too. He would've thought Sam would've told him, but maybe she just didn't get the chance.

Jason soon heard Sam come down the stairs. He picked up the picture and turned to her. "Who's this?"

Sam froze when she saw the photo. It was of Jake. Elizabeth had given it to Danny right after he found out he had a brother. Sam had been truly grateful for that. It had hurt Danny to know that he had a brother that died. Having that picture had really helped him.

Sam wasn't sure how to explain this to Jason. How did she tell her husband that he had a son that died? He might not remember Jake, but the boy was his son and it would still hurt him very much. It would be painful for any parent.

Sam took a deep breath and went over to her husband. "That's Jake. He's your son."

"We have another son?" Jason asked.

Sam took Jason's hand and led him over to the couch where they both sat down. "No. Jake isn't our son, just yours. We were broken up for a while and you had a one night stand. That's how Jake was conceived.

"Who's Jake's mother? I need to talk to her. I wanna meet him," Jason said.

Sam cringed. This was not going to be easy to explain. "Her name is Elizabeth Webber. Two of the boys you met with Danny, Cameron and Aiden, are actually her sons. And you should talk to her about Jake. He was your son and you should discuss him. But, Jason, you're never going to be able to meet him."

Jason got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what Sam said next. "Why?"

Sam took a deep breath. "It happened a little over a year before Danny was born. Jake was hit by a car, a drunk driver. The doctors did everything they could, but it wasn't enough. He was declared brain dead.

Jason felt like something heavy had just hit him straight in the chest. His son was dead. That felt so wrong to even think, and it was. Parents were never supposed to outlive their children. What was worse was that Jason knew he couldn't fully appreciate the loss. It hurt that he had a son that died, that he would never have the chance to know his son, but he knew it should hurt much worse. If he ever remembered, it would. "H...how old was he."

"Almost four," Sam told him.

Jason looked down sadly. "He didn't even really get the chance to live."

"I know. It's really sad," Sam said.

"Was I at least a good father to him?" Jason asked.

Sam cringed once more. Jason was not going to respond well to this. "Jason, you loved Jake. You loved him so much that you wanted him to have a better life than what you thought you could give him, so you agreed to let Elizabeth and her husband raise him."

"I left him?" Jason asked in horror. As if being a mob hit man wasn't enough. Now he found out that he'd abandoned his own son. The more he learned, the more he hated.

"You were trying to keep him safe. Your life was..."

"Well, then maybe I should've changed my life! Maybe I should've done something that would be safe for my son. For both of my sons and you," Jason said. He was so disgusted with himself right now. He found himself to be a horrible person, at least the way he used to be anyway. Aside from Sam and the children he brought into the world, he didn't see any redeeming qualities in the man he once was. "I won't go back to that, Sam. I will not go back to being that person."

"I know," Sam said. She knew that even if Jason remembered who he was, he would never be the person he once was. He couldn't be. Even if he got back his old memories, he wouldn't forget the last fourteen years. He wouldn't forget the life he'd made for himself. He simply would never be the same man he was in 2012. That was something they would all have to accept, and some would find that hard, like Sonny and maybe Carly. They would not easily accept this Jason, just as the Quartermaines hadn't accepted the old one very easily.

Jason looked at her. "I'm sorry. I know it's probably not something you wanna here."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Jason. I got my miracle. For fourteen years, I've wanted you to come home. You finally did, even if it's not the same. You're back. Whatever changes that means for the future, we'll just have to figure out," Sam said. She then looked at her watch. "We should get going. Your appointment with Patrick is soon."

Jason nodded.

"I'm gonna go tell Danny we're leaving and then we can head out," Sam said before standing up and heading for the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11

Doctor Patrick Drake was in his office looking at the brain scans belonging to his new patient and fellow Doctor, Jason Malcolm. What he found was very puzzling. There was considerable damage to both sides of the frontal lobe, but there was no TBI according to the file. In fact, his only injury was a gunshot to the back. That wouldn't cause brain damage.

Patrick soon heard a knock at his door, followed by it opened. He turned to see his wife there. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Hey, yourself," Robin said with a smile as she walked inside and closed the door. "So how long do you think you'll be stuck here? I've got no more patients, so I'm looking to cut out. I figured we could go for an early dinner."

"I would love to, but I have a patient coming in any minute now. I'm not exactly looking forward to it though. I don't have good news for him." Patrick said. He'd gone over the scans several times and he found he agreed with the attending physician. Doctor Malcolm wouldn't be remembering anytime soon.

Robin looked towards the brain scans. "Are those the patient's scans?"

"Yes, and they make no medical sense whatsoever. He was shot in the back and somehow ended up with severe brain damage," Patrick said.

"That's a lot of damage to the frontal lobe," Robin commented.

Patrick nodded. "According to the file, all that was affected was the memory. Well, that they know about anyway. The patient presented with Global Retrograde amnesia, we don't really know what he was like before."

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Patrick said.

The door opened revealing Sam. "Hey, guys."

"Sam, hi. I'm sorry, but unless this is an emergency, you'll have to come back. I have a patient arriving any minute now," Patrick said.

"Actually, your patient is already here. He's with me. You guys should prepare yourselves. This is gonna be a shock," Sam said.

Patrick and Robin looked at each other and then at Sam in confusion.

Rather than answering, Sam walked inside and held the door open. Jason stepped through in.

Robin and Patrick stared at Jason in shock. Both their mouths were ajar. "Oh my God. Jason?" Robin asked.

"Hi. I guess I know you," Jason said awkwardly.

"Yeah, this is Robin and Patrick. You and Robin were really good friends. You even dated at one point," Sam said.

"It's nice to meet you, though I guess we already met," Jason said.

"How is this possible?" Patrick asked still in shock. This was unbelievable to him. Although, it was less shocking than when Robin came back from the dead. That had almost literally taken his breath away. Still, he wasn't expecting this. Jason Morgan had been thought dead for over fourteen years now.

"We're not sure how it happened. Jason can't remember anything. All we know is that he somehow ended up in a Miami hospital with no memory," Sam explained.

"How did you find him?" Robin asked Sam.

"I didn't. Danny did. He and the others found while they were in Florida. They found him when Aiden hurt his hand," Sam said.

"Wow, so Emma knows about this?" Robin asked surprised.

"Uh, yeah. I asked them all not to say anything. I'm sorry, I just thought that Monica should find out first and I wanted her to hear it from me," Sam said.

Robin looked at Patrick. "Well, the scans make more sense now."

Patrick got his bearings and remembered that he had a job to do. "Uh, right. I better go see if I can track down Jason's original file to compare the scans."

Robin watched as her husband left the room before turning to Jason and Sam. "Please, have a seat.

Jason and Sam sat in the two chairs in front of Patrick's desk.

"So did you get to tell Monica?" Robin asked. Sam had said she wanted Monica to know before anyone else, but she hadn't said whether or not that happened yet.

"No. We just got in this afternoon. We were delayed because Jason had to cover things at the hospital," Sam said.

It was at that moment that Robin remembered that Jason had become a doctor. Patrick had told her that when he told her about his patient. It was shocking because it was such a different direction from where his life was fourteen years ago. True, before the accident he wanted to be a doctor, but in Robin's eyes, that was a whole different person. "You're a doctor."

Jason nodded. "A step up from being a hit man, right?"

Patrick came back in at that moment with a file in his hand.

"That was quick," Robin commented.

"We can thank Epiphany's filing system for that. They found it for me quickly," Patrick said before taking out one of the scans of Jason's brain and putting it up next to the newer one.

Jason and Sam stood up and went over to Patrick.

"Okay, so as you can see, there's a big difference between the two," Patrick said.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, the original accident seems to have caused most of the damage."

"But not all of it. The right part of the frontal lobe took a big hit after you were shoved into the water. I'm sure you see the contusions," Patrick said as he pointed to the newer scan.

"Yeah, I've gone over these scans several times. I know what's there," Jason said.

"Your file states that you only sustained memory issues. Is that true?" Patrick asked.

"Yeah, as far as I know. There were no cognitive or memory deficits. However, I think considering a slight personality change wouldn't be off the mark," Jason said. He wouldn't really know for sure if his personality was so different than what it used to be, but given how his different life choices, he'd say that it was likely that he suffered a shift.

"Well, given what I've observed in the last few minutes, that's very possible," Patrick said. He'd only spent a few minutes with Jason so far and he could already tell he was different. Putting aside his new medical knowledge, he was lighter, more patient and more socially appropriate. It was much different from the Jason Morgan he remembered.

"Wait, you think the damage to his brain caused a change in personality. I assumed it was just his loss in memory," Sam said.

"Well, it's certainly possible that the memory loss has something to do with it, as a lot of our personalities are shaped by our life experiences," Jason said.

"But personality changes are consistent with frontal lobe damage," Patrick finished.

"It wouldn't be the first time he's suffered from it either," Robin said.

"I'm not sure I'd call it suffrage," Jason said. He rather liked his personality. Then again, he had nothing in his memory to compare it to.

"Sorry. Bad choice of words," Robin said.

"So if his personality shift was due to the brain injury, that means that even if he recovered his memory, his personality wouldn't change, right?" Sam asked. She already knew that Jason's personality would be forever altered, but she thought that when and if he remembered, it would be more like the two personalities would merge.

"Correct," Patrick said.

Jason finally decided to ask the question he and Sam both wanted the answer to. "Will I remember?"

"Well, there's always reason to believe and have hope that…" Patrick stopped mid-sentence when he realized what he was doing. He was giving Jason the same song and dance that he gave every other patient. But Jason wasn't any other patient. He was a doctor and he Patrick felt he owed the man a professional courtesy to give the complete truth instead of the company line. "Jason, I'm gonna be straight with you. I'm not going to give you the same spiel that I'd give anyone else who walked into this office."

Jason sighed. He knew what was coming. He knew that it was a long shot even before he called Patrick in the first place. He just felt he had to try.

"You're not going to remember, Jason. The damage to your frontal lobe can't be undone. You know that. You're just going to have to live with that reality. You've done it for fourteen years, and while I know that finding out you have a wife and son out there makes it harder, you can continue to live your life without those memories," Patrick told him.

Sam felt her stomach drop. She'd tried not to hope too much, but apparently it hadn't worked. She was really hoping Jason would remember her and Danny. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

"No. Brain damage is irreversible, Sam. All you can do is find a way to live with the fallout. I'm sorry," Patrick said.

"It's okay. I knew what you were going to say before we even got here. I had to try though. Thank you," Jason said as he extended his and to the man.

Patrick was taken off guard for a second, but recovered quickly and shook Jason's hand.

Jason let go of Patrick's hand and turned to Sam. "We should go."

Sam nodded mutely and led the way to the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Danny was in the living room playing a video game. He was trying to keep his mind off of what was going on with his parents. Right now, they were both at the hospital with Emma's dad trying to find out if his dad would ever remember. It was more than a little nerve wracking for Danny. He wanted them to get back so that he had an answer one way or another.

Soon, Danny heard a knock at the door. He immediately put the controller down and went to answer the door. When he did, he froze like a deer caught in the headlights. It was his grandmother. "Grandma Monica."

"Hey, sweetheart. Can I come in?" Monica asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Danny said before stepping aside. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't tell his grandmother she couldn't come in because he was nervous he'd let something slip.

Monica walked inside. "I heard your mother went to get you in Florida. I was worried something happened to you."

"No, I'm fine," Danny said before closing the door.

"Are you sure? I can't see any reason for your mother to personally collect you unless something happened," Monica said.

"No, everything was fine. Well, Aiden hurt his hand while we were there," Danny said. It wasn't a lie. Aiden did get hurt. True, that didn't have anything to do with why his mom came to get him, but his grandmother didn't need to know that yet.

"Oh, well, that must be it. She must have been worried that you were hurt as well," Monica said.

"Yeah, that must have been it," Danny said as he looked away. He was a horrible liar. He was sure his grandmother would see through him any minute now.

"Is your mom home? It's been a while since I've seen her," Monica said.

"Um, no. She… went out," Danny said nervously.

Monica frowned. Her grandson seemed very nervous and uneasy. It was worrying her. "Danny, is everything alright?"

Before Danny could answer, the door opened and Sam's voice was heard. "I wish you'd stop apologizing. It's not your fault," she said as she and Jason started to walk inside.

"It feels like it is. My life choices caused this," Jason said.

Sam froze when she saw Monica standing just a few feet away with her son. She hadn't expected to see her there. This was not how she wanted this to go. She wanted to tell Monica about Jason before she saw him. She didn't wanna just spring it on her. "Monica."

Monica didn't hear her daughter-in-law speak. She was too busy staring at man next to her in shock. It was her son. Her dead son was standing just a few feet away from her, alive and well. It was beyond shocking. She never thought she'd see Jason again, but there he was.

Monica began to feel dizzy and light headed. Her eyes then started to roll back into her head.

Jason immediately knew what was happening and leaped forward to help the older woman. He just managed to catch her as she fell.

"Grandma!" Danny exclaimed in alarm.

"It's okay. I think she just fainted, honey," Sam said.

Jason brought Monica to the couch and laid her down. "We need to elevate her feet. Sam, can you get me some pillows or folded up blankets?"

"Yeah," Sam said before rushing upstairs.

"Danny, can you grab my medical bag by the door?" Jason asked as he began to take off his coat.

Danny immediately did as his father asked. He grabbed his bag and brought it over. "Is she gonna be okay?" He was getting worried with how serious his father was taking this.

"Probably, but she still needs to be assessed," Jason said as he took the bag from his son and sat down on the edge of the couch by his… mother. He immediately started to loosen her coat. He then checked her pulse.

Sam came back down at that moment with a pile of folded blankets. "Uh, is this good?"

"Yeah. Put them under her feet. We need to elevate them," Jason said before pulling his stethoscope from his bag.

Sam immediately picked up Monica's legs and placed the blankets underneath them.

Jason quickly checked Monica's breathing. "She's got a good heartbeat and her pulse is strong. Now we need to try to wake her up."

"Should I like get a glass of water to throw at her or something?" Danny asked. He'd seen that kind of thing done on TV to wake people up after they fainted.

"No," Sam said immediately.

"Definitely not. That stuff you see on TV is crap. You don't wake up a fainting patient by splashing water on them. You do it the normal way," Jason said before beginning to shake the unconscious woman. "Monica? Monica, can you hear me? It's time to wake up.

Monica slowly began to stir. She opened her eyes to see her dead son by her side. "J…Jason?"

"Yeah, it's me. Follow my finger," Jason said as he slowly waved his index finger back and forth in front of Monica's face.

Monica didn't follow her son's order. She was too busy staring at him in shock. "This isn't real. This is a dream." If the fact that her son was sitting just inches away from her wasn't proof that she was dreaming, the fact that there was a stethoscope around his neck and was behaving like a doctor certainly was. This was not only a dream, it was her dream. This was what she'd longed for since the accident.

"Monica, it is real. I know this is very strange and confusing, but this is not a dream. It's real. I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like this," Sam said.

Monica hesitantly reached out to touch her son. Much to her surprise, he didn't disappear when she touched him. "Jason? Jason, is it really you?"

Jason nodded. "We'll explain the best we can, but right now I have to finish examining you. Follow my finger."

This time, Monica followed her son's instructions.

"You seem pretty alert. I think you're gonna be fine, but we should get you something to drink. Sam, do you have any juice in the house?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, there should be some orange juice in the fridge," Sam said.

"I got it, Mom," Danny said before disappearing towards the kitchen.

Monica slowly began sit up.

Jason stood up. "Don't move too quickly. You should take it easy."

"No, I'm fine. I'm not feeling any pain or having any trouble breathing. I'm just shocked. How is this possible?"

"Danny found him while he was in Florida. He examined Aiden after he hurt his wrist," Sam said.

Monica looked at her son in shock. "You're really a doctor?"

Jason nodded. "I am.

Danny came back into the room at that moment with a glass of orange juice. "Here, Grandma."

Monica took the glass from her grandson and took a sip. "Thank you, sweetheart. I don't understand this. How can this be? How can you even be alive, let alone a doctor?" This was so confusing, yet it was also a dream come true, literally. This was what she'd always wanted since Jason told her he wanted to become a doctor. After the accident happened, that seemed to be something she could only dream about, but here he was. He had fulfilled the wish from when he was young and made her dream a reality.

Jason shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Listen, I know you're my mother and I'm supposed to know you, but I don't. I don't remember you."

"The lack of oxygen from nearly drowning created some issues," Sam added

Monica looked at her son. "You don't remember anything."

"No. I woke up in the hospital fourteen years ago without a single memory. I'm sorry. I know it must be hard for you to hear that I can't remember you," Jason said.

Monica was frankly surprised by the apology. The last time this happened he certainly didn't apologize. Not that he should've. It wasn't his fault, then or now. "Don't apologize. For one, it's not your fault, and for another, I'm just glad you're alive."

"I…I just know that this can't be easy," Jason said. He felt really bad about how hard this was for the people that knew him. He wished there was some way he could make it easier.

Monica stood up. "Jason, you have no idea how happy I am right now. You're alive. That's all that matters. My son is back," she said before throwing her arms around him.

Jason felt very awkward in a hug with a woman he didn't know, but he didn't wanna hurt her, so he hugged her back.


	13. Chapter 13

Jason was sitting in the living room with Monica. Sam and Danny had gone out to give the two of them some time alone.

"So tell me about yourself. What has your life been like?" Monica asked.

"Well, until a week ago, it was basically work. I mean, I've had a few girlfriends in the past, but it never really led anywhere. I've been married to my job really. Though I guess I've been married to Sam too," Jason said. It was still weird for him to think about, having a wife and son that he never knew about and couldn't remember. And he would never remember them.

Monica shook her head. "I can't get over it. You're a doctor. It was your dream when you were young, but after the accident, we thought it would never happen," Monica said.

"Yeah, Sam said there was an accident that damaged my frontal lobe. I saw the original scans when I went to the hospital today," Jason said.

"You were at General Hospital today?" Monica asked.

Jason nodded. "I had an appointment with Patrick Drake to see if there was any chance of me remembering. I'd seen scans of my brain before, but I thought all the damage was from whatever happened after I was shot. I found out different when I met Sam. Then when Drake compared the scans, I realized most of the damage was from the original injury."

"Does that mean there is a chance of you remembering?" Monica asked. The doctor in her was skeptical. It had been over fourteen years. If he was going to remember, it probably would've happened already.

Jason shook his head. "No. Doctor Drake said I'd never remember. It wasn't all that surprising. I knew the chances of remembering were slim. I've known that for years, that's why I waited so long to see a specialist. Well, that's part of it anyway. For a long time I didn't wanna remember."

"Why not?" Monica asked curiously.

"I'd been shot. I couldn't see a good reason for that. I felt like the person I was couldn't have been good for someone to shoot me. And I was right," Jason said before looking away.

"So you know about what you did for a living?" Monica asked.

Jason nodded. "After meeting Danny, I knew there was a connection there. I tried to find out some information and came to an article about my 'death'. The article said I was a mob hit man. I killed people for a living."

"Jason, that article doesn't tell all about who you were. Yes, you made bad choices, but you were good to the people you loved. You loved Sam and Danny so much, as well as several others. You were important to people," Monica told him. She didn't want her son to think he was a monster because he wasn't. Yes, he'd done some terrible things, but that wasn't all he was. He was much more to the people who loved him.

"I abandoned my own son," Jason said. He would never get over that. To him, that was the worst thing he'd done. The killing and other criminal activity was bad, but abandoning his first born son was the worst.

Monica frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? You didn't abandon Danny. You were shot. It wasn't your fault."

"Well, that's a matter of opinion, but I wasn't talking about Danny. I was talking about my other son. The one that died."

Monica sighed as realization hit her. "Jake. You know about Jake. I didn't know about Jake until after he died and I was angry about that fact, but I understood why you did it. You and Elizabeth wanted to protect Jake."

"Yeah, well, then I should've made better life choices. I…I can't understand why I would do it. Why would I work for the mob?" Jason asked.

"Well, I know what I believe, but I'm not exactly impartial," Monica said. She wasn't sure she wanted to give Jason her view points. She didn't want to push her thoughts and opinions on her son like she and Alan did last time. That was what drove him away.

"Your beliefs are all I have. I'm not going to remember my reasons, so I have to go by someone else's. You're my mother. I'll just have to trust that what you tell me is the truth. Please," Jason said.

"Alright. After the accident, things were very tense. You couldn't remember anything and we were told you likely never would. But that wasn't something we could easily accept. Despite the fact that your father and I were both doctors, we wanted to believe that you would remember," Monica said.

"That's understandable. I'm a doctor too and I still wanted to believe that I could remember my wife and son," Jason said.

"But we took it too far. We pushed you to remember. We pushed you to be somebody you weren't anymore. You see, it wasn't just your memory. There were personality changes and other deficits too. It was like you were someone else. Actually, you were someone else. And we couldn't accept that. We pushed you too far and you balked away from us because of that," Monica said. She wouldn't deny her own responsibility. She'd pushed her son away and straight into the arms of Sonny Corinthos. She had to own up to that.

"I'm sorry," Jason said.

"No, Jason, it's not your fault. We messed up. We pushed you too far. We wanted back the son that we lost and you couldn't be that. You realized that and it made you angry, as it should. It was our fault," Monica said.

"I could've been more understanding. Anyway, go on," Jason said.

"Well, you went off and found people who would listen and treat you as you were. One of those people was Sonny Corinthos. To you, he wasn't a mob boss or a killer. He was just someone who treated you with respect in a way that you felt we didn't. In a way, we drove you to him. But in my opinion, he took advantage of you. You had a brain injury. You couldn't fully appreciate the consequences of your actions. Sonny knew that and hired you anyway."

"I still made the choice," Jason said. In his mind, a person was responsible for his or her own actions. Maybe Monica was right and Corinthos did take advantage, but he still ultimately chose.

"Believe me, Jason, I'm not negating your responsibility or even mine. I'm just saying that Sonny carries a great deal of the blame as well. At least that's how I see it," Monica said.

Jason nodded. "Thanks for telling me all this.

Just then, Monica's beeper went off. She immediately took it out and looked at it. "Oh, I have to go. There's a situation at the hospital."

"Of course. I understand," Jason said before standing up.

Monica stood up as well and put her coat on. "Uh, are you going back to Florida?"

"No," Jason said. He'd given it a lot of thought and decided he couldn't go back. He couldn't leave Danny. He could always find work at another hospital, but Danny was his son. He needed him.

Monica sighed in relief. She was glad to hear her son wasn't going anywhere "Well, then you should stop by the hospital. We can never get enough doctors."

Jason nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you."

Monica nodded and headed for the door.


	14. Chapter 14

Sam arrived back at the penthouse about an hour later. She found Jason sitting on the couch holding a picture in his hands. "Hey.

Jason placed the picture he was looking at of Sam and Danny on the table. "HI. Where's Danny?"

"I dropped him off at my mother's. He wasn't very happy about it, but I thought we should talk alone," Sam said. Danny usually loved his time with Alexis, but right now, he wanted to be at home with his dad. He hadn't been happy at all to be made to stay with his grandmother.

"About what?" Jason asked.

Sam looked around the apartment. "Did Monica leave?'

Jason nodded. "Yeah, a little while ago."

"How'd it go?" Sam asked as she took her coat off and hung it up.

"It went okay. I can't say it wasn't a little weird, but after all this time, I'm kind of used to it. I wanna get to know her. She seems like a good woman," Jason said. Monica had been very kind to him and she was very honest. He appreciated that the most.

"She is," Sam said.

"So what did you wanna talk about without Danny?" Jason asked again.

Sam went over and sat down next to her husband. "I need to know what you intend to do next. Do you intend to go back to Miami? If you do, I need to know now so that I can prepare my son."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Jason said.

"Are you sure? I know how much you hate who you used to be. There are going to be people here who will want you to be that person. It'd be much easier for you if you left," Sam said. Contrary to her words, she wasn't trying to get him to leave. She just wanted to make sure he was aware of the implications of his decision. She didn't want him to suddenly change his mind later. That would hurt Danny much more, and Danny was her top priority.

Jason sighed. "Yeah, I kind of figured that. I'm going to have to deal with the things I did in the past and the people I was around, like Sonny Corinthos. It's not really appealing, but neither is being hundreds of miles away while my son is here I can't go back there while Danny is here. I need to be around him."

Sam was both relieved to hear it. She was glad that Jason was going to be around for their son. She wouldn't have enjoyed explaining to Danny that his father wasn't going to stick around for him. That would've broken him. She did wish she played a part in Jason's decision to stay, but right now it was enough that he was staying. She couldn't really expect him to stay for her anyway. He didn't know her. He didn't know about the life they'd shared.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Uh, who is it?" Sam asked loudly. She wasn't going to answer it until she knew who it was. Depending on who it was, they could very well get the shock of their lives.

"Michael," A voice from the other side of the door replied.

"Oh, crap," Sam said after a minute. She'd completely forgotten that Michael was coming back today. He'd asked her a week ago to watch his son today and she'd agreed. With Jason coming back from the dead, she'd completely forgotten about Michael and well, everything.

"Who's Michael?" Jason asked.

"Your nephew. I'll be right back," Sam said before going to the door. She opened it slightly and walked outside before closing the door before Michael could see who was inside.

Michael was standing there with a woman with dark brown hair and a young blond boy that looked to be around seven or eight.

"Michael, Nicole hi. Hey, AJ," Sam greeted. AJ, Michael's son, was of course named after Michael's father. Well, sort of. He was named after AJ and Jason. Instead of Alan James, he was Alan Jason. Most called him AJ though. It was how Michael wanted it. He wanted his father's memory to live on through his little boy.

"Hi, Aunt Sam," AJ said.

"Is everything okay, Sam?" Michael asked. The way she'd kept him from going inside was not lost on him.

Sam's face moved from Michael to AJ. This wasn't something she wanted to say in front of the little boy.

"Uh, AJ, I think we left your homework in the car," Nicole, Michael's wife said.

"No we didn't. It's in my bag," AJ said innocently as he pointed to the backpack he was wearing on his back.

"Uh, well, I'm sure there's something we left out there," she said before ushering her son onto the elevator.

Michael watched his wife and child leave before turning to Sam. "What' wrong? Is Danny okay?"

"Oh, yeah, Danny's fine. Look, Michael, there's something I have to tell you. I know your anniversary isn't the best time to do it, but you're here and I can't justify not telling you," Sam said.

"Of course. Just tell me," Michael said.

Sam told Michael everything. She told him how Danny had gone to Florida with his friends and how while there, he'd found Jason alive and well.

To say Michael was shocked would be an understatement. He'd long since accepted that his uncle was gone. "So Jason's alive?"

"Yeah. He's inside now. But he doesn't have any memory. The oxygen loss from nearly drowning damaged his brain. Multiple doctors have said he won't remember, including Patrick. So while he is alive, he's not the same.

"I just can't believe it. Jason's alive and he's a doctor?" Michael asked shocked. That was just mind boggling. He knew from his grandmother that Jason had wanted to be a doctor before the accident, but the Jason he knew had been as far from a doctor as it got.

"Yeah. It's shocking, right? But that's who he is. And believe it or not, it suits him," Sam said. She'd been looking at her husband when he was examining Monica. It was weird seeing him that way, but it also looked natural, like it was what he was meant to do.

"Does he know what he was like before?" Michael said.

"Yeah, he knows practically everything. He wasn't happy about it. He wants nothing to do with Sonny," Sam said.

"I don't blame him," Michael said. He too wanted nothing to do with the man he used to call his father. He never forgave the man for killing AJ, the other AJ, and he never would.

"Do you wanna come in? I'm sure he'd love to meet you," Sam said.

"Yeah. Let me just go talk to Nicole and have her take AJ home," Michael said before heading for the elevator


	15. Chapter 15

Sam walked into the apartment a few minutes later with Michael. She'd waited for him to come back up to go back in.

Jason turned as soon as he heard Sam come back in. He noticed a man with blond hair that he thought looked quite a bit like him.

"Jason, this is Michael," Sam said.

Jason stood up and held out his hand. "Hi, Michael. It's nice to meet you."

Michael immediately took his hand. He wanted to give his uncle a hug, but he knew Jason didn't remember him and would probably find it weird. "It's good to see you again, Jason. I've really missed."

"I wish I could say the same but I don't…"

"It's okay. I know you don't remember me. Sam told me. I know brain damage, so I understand," Michael said. He hadn't suffered as badly as Jason had no or during the first injury, but he knew what it was like to have a brain injury."

"You have brain damage?" Jason asked.

"Well, I had really poor impulse control and anger after being shot. It's not really a factor anymore. I learned to handle both of those things. I know what it's like to be affected by it though," Michael said.

Jason nodded. "So Sam tells me you're my nephew. How are we related? I mean, is it though your mother, your father?"

"My father. My father, AJ was your older brother. You were friends with my mother and my adoptive father too, but we're blood through AJ," Michael said.

"AJ? I take it hat was his name," Jason summed up.

Michael nodded. "Alan James Quartermaine Jr. He was named after your father."

"I wanna meet him," Jason said.

Michael closed his eyes sadly for a minute. "You can't."

"Jason, AJ was killed many years ago," Sam said.

"Oh. How?" Jason wondered.

"He was murdered by Sonny Corinthos," Michael said through gritted teeth. It still hurt and made him unbelievably angry when he thought about it. He missed AJ a lot and he hated Sonny for killing him. He used to think nothing could make him hate the man that raised him, but he hated Sonny's guts. The worst part was that Sonny still tried to talk to him like nothing had changed. He tried to act like AJ was nothing and like Michael should just forgive him. That was never going to happen.

Jason's eyes dropped towards his feet in shame. He couldn't help be feel responsible for this. He wasn't sure if he was really responsible in any way, but felt so. He worked with this man. He worked with the man who murdered his brother. "I'm so sorry."

"No, don't be. You were already presumed dead when it happened. You weren't around, and if you had been, I know you would've stopped it if you could," Michael said. He knew that was true. Yes, Jason had always been loyal to Sonny, but he would never have condoned AJ's murder, even if just for Michael's own sake.

"He's right, Jason. You and AJ had your issues, but you wouldn't have allowed this, and if it did still happen, I think it would've been a deal breaker for you," Sam said. While Jason never really liked AJ, he loved Michael and he would've gone to war with Sonny this. Sonny's actions had devastated Michael. That wasn't something Jason would've been able to forgive.

"Still, I mean, you can't think much of me. I worked with the man that would come to murder your father. That must make you angry," Jason said.

"It would be kind of hypocritical for me to be angry. I cared about Sonny too. He was my dad for many years," Michael said before going over to the couch and sitting down.

Jason frowned in confusion and joined his nephew on the couch. "I don't understand. How was Corinthos your dad?"

"Uh, it's a long story. Suffice it to say, Sonny managed to get AJ to sign away his rights through less than legal means. My mom let him adopt me not long afterwards," Michael said.

"So he threatened AJ," Jason summed up in disgust.

"It was more brutal than that but, yes, that's basically what happened. I hated it when I found out, but I decided to let it go. I loved him. He was my dad. I thought he was wrong but not so much that I was willing to walk away from him. That didn't happen until AJ was killed," Michael said with anger and sadness in his voice and on his face.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to talk about this. It obviously upsets you," Jason said.

"No, it's okay. Yes, it upsets me and always will, but I don't mind telling you about it. I want you to know. Sonny's going to come at you eventually. He's going to try everything he can to get you to work for him again," Michael said.

"That's not gonna happen. No part of me was interested in that even before you told me this," Jason said. He'd had no interest in going back to that life. As it was, he was disgusted with the kind of man he used to be. He wouldn't be that again. And what Michael told him about Sonny made him even more determined to stay away from the man. He certainly wasn't going to have anything to do with the man that murdered his brother.

"I'm glad to hear it. There was a time when that would've upset me, but now, I couldn't be happier," Michael said.

"So I'm going to give you guys some time alone. I still have to unpack from Florida," Sam said before heading upstairs.

Jason watched her leave before turning back to Michael. "So tell me about yourself. Sam didn't get the chance to tell me anything. She just told me who you were when you came to the door."

"Well, my name's Michael Morgan-Quartermaine. It used to be Michael Corinthos, but I changed it about a year after my father died. I couldn't write the name 'Corinthos' without a feeling of disgust every time, so I changed it," Michael said. At the time, he'd thought about just taking Quartermaine as his last name, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought about how Jason had been such a prominent influence in his life. In many ways, he was more of a father than an uncle, so he decided hyphenate it to honor the two men who had been real father figures and still deserved to be called that. "I work for a top notch computer company. I think I'm pretty good at what I do."

"That's good. Are you married?"

"Yes. I'm married to a wonderful woman. We've been together for ten years. We're as happy as the day we got married. Actually, today is our anniversary. That's why we came by today. Sam was gonna watch our son for the night," Michael said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from celebrating your anniversary," Jason said.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm happy to be here with you and Nicole understands that. We'll celebrate another day," Michael said.

Jason nodded, but he still felt kind of bad. "So you have a son?"

"Yeah. Alan Jason," Michael said with mile. He always smiled when he talked about his son. He loved that little boy with every fiber of his body and he made sure to tell that to AJ every day. It was funny because he never thought he would have a family when he was young. A lot of people probably felt the same way though. Now he couldn't imagine life without his wife and son.

"Y…you named your son after me?" Jason asked in shock.

"Well, I gave it to him as a middle name. I named him after the two men in my life I loved and lost. He's Alan Jason Morgan-Quartermaine. We call him AJ though. I wanted to do that for my father," Michael said. Almost everyone called his son AJ. The only person that didn't was Michael's mother and that irritated the crap out of him. His mom always called his son Jason. She totally ignored the 'Alan' part of his son's name and what they actually called him. It was one of the reasons Michael spent as little time as possible with the woman.

"I'm sure he'd be happy," Jason said. He didn't know AJ, but he had to believe the man would be happy to know that his grandson was named for him. What parent wouldn't be happy about that?

"I think so. So what about you? What's your life like?" Michael asked.

Jason chuckled. "My life's boring. I'm practically married to my job. I spend more time at the hospital than anywhere else. I didn't really have anything else aside from the occasional relationship that went nowhere until I met Danny and then Sam."

"And you felt like you belonged with them. I understand. I have to believe that if anything like that happened to me, my heart would still be with Nicole and AJ." Michael said.

"You should go be with them. I know you said your wife understood, but it's still your anniversary. You should be with your wife. I'll still be here tomorrow and every day after that. Go be with your family," Jason encouraged. Well, he'd be in Port Charles anyway. He wasn't sure he'd be at Sam's. He wasn't sure she wanted him to stay there. It wouldn't really be fair for him to stay when neither one of them were sure where they stood with each other.

Michael was hesitant, but eventually decided to do as his uncle suggested. He should be with Nicole today and Jason was probably a bit overwhelmed by everything. "Alright, but I'll be back. You're important to me. I want you to meet Nicole and AJ whenever you're ready. I'd like my son to have the opportunity to know the terrific uncle I had as a kid."

Jason nodded. "I'd like that."

Michael stood up. "Okay, I'll see you soon. I'm really glad you're back, Jason."

"Thank you. I'm glad to have met you," Jason said.

Michael smiled one last time and headed for the door.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Sam went over to her mother's house to pick up Danny. When she got there, she knocked the door.

The door was opened seconds later by Alexis, who sighed in relief. "Oh, good, you're here."

"What? Is something wrong?" Sam asked worried. Her instincts went straight to something being wrong with Danny.

"No, I've just been worried about you. I must have picked up the phone about a dozen times to call you and see what was going on," Alexis said. After he grandson had told her what happened in Florida, all she wanted to do was see how her daughter was doing, but she also wanted to give Sam the space to figure everything out for herself.

"Oh, Danny told you," Sam realized before walking inside.

Alexis shut the door behind her. "Yeah. I didn't believe him at first. I thought he must have been confused or something, but when he explained that you knew as well and that Jason had returned to Port Charles with you, I knew it was true."

"It is true. Jason is alive," Sam said as she sat down on the couch.

Alexis joined her daughter on the couch. "How are you handling this?"

"How am I handling my husband being back from the dead or the fact that he has no memory of me?" Sam asked.

"Both," Alexis said.

"Well, you know I'm glad Jason's back. I've dreamed about it every night for the past fourteen years. All I wanted was my husband back and for Danny to have his father But this isn't what I expected," Sam said. When she thought about Jason coming home, she imagined him running into her arms and them being together like nothing happened. That was far from what happened.

"Oh, I'm sure. Still, he's back and that is something," Alexis said.

"Yeah, it is. I'm so glad Jason's alive, even if he won't ever remember me," Sam said.

Alexis frowned. "Danny said that hadn't been determined yet."

"That's because I didn't get a chance to tell Danny what Patrick said. Jason isn't going to remember. His brain was damaged from the lack of oxygen it received when he fell into the water. That's what's causing the amnesia," Sam explained.

"And Patrick's sure?" Alexis asked.

Sam nodded. "Positive. Jason was pretty sure too. He'd spoken to other doctors before Patrick and he had some knowledge on the subject himself."

"Yeah, Danny told me he was a doctor. Talk about a dramatic career change," Alexis said. The fact that Jason was a doctor was part of why she was hesitant to believe Danny when he told her. She just couldn't see Jason Morgan as a doctor.

"Yeah, it was definitely surprising, but it seems to make him happy. He looks really natural when he's helping people. It is weird though. He's so different. He's kinder, more patient," Sam said. Her Jason was like that with her, but with others, he had no patience, and even with her he wasn't quite the way he was now.

"I owe you an apology, Sam."

Sam quirked an eyebrow at her mother. "What are you talking about, Mom?"

"When Jason was first presumed dead, you didn't believe it. Something inside you told you that your husband was alive, and you were right. But I tried to convince you that you were wrong," Alexis said.

"You weren't the only one," Sam said. A lot of people had tried to get her to see that Jason was dead, but she wouldn't listen. She hadn't wanted to accept that he was gone.

"Well, maybe if we had all just left you alone, you would've kept digging and found Jason," Alexis said.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. I think eventually, I still would've come to the conclusion that Jason was gone. There's no real point in wondering what if. This is how it happened, and it's no one's fault but the psycho who shot Jason," Sam said.

"How is Jason dealing with all of this?" Alexis asked.

Sam sighed. "It depends on what part of it you're referring to. He's dealing with the lack of memory pretty well, but he's been dealing with that for fourteen years. I guess he was disappointed when Patrick told him he wouldn't remember. He really wanted to remember Danny. But he's dealing with that okay too. He's not dealing with who he used to be very well though."

"You mean what he did for a living," Alexis guessed.

Sam nodded. "It doesn't help that he looked up the information online. Reporters tell things in the most gruesome way possible. He's disgusted with himself for the choices he made. He even blames himself for the shooting and subsequent memory loss."

"If he hates what he was that much, I don't see a meeting with Sonny going well," Alexis said.

"Oh, that's an understatement. Jason wants nothing to do with Sonny, absolutely nothing. And that was before yesterday," Sam said. She was not looking forward to any confrontations with Sonny. Sonny wasn't going to respond well to this Jason. Not that she cared what Sonny thought. She only spoke to Sonny nowadays when she had to. She tried to limit her contact with the mob boss. You could just never tell when he was stable or when he was going to go off the deep end. She just preferred not to have anything to do with him.

Sonny's stability was what Sam was worried about now. She was worried that Jason's rejection would send him off the deep end again and he would do something crazy. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. She just didn't want her family anywhere near that.

"What happened yesterday?" Alexis wondered.

"He met Michael," Sam said.

"Ah, enough said," Alexis said. It was no secret how Michael felt about Sonny. He had made his contempt for the man he'd once considered a father well known. Alexis still found it hard to believe sometimes. She'd watched Michael grow up. She remembered how much he idolized Sonny. She thought that there was nothing Sonny could ever do to turn Michael away. AJ's death had proved her wrong. Michael loved AJ just as much as he once loved Sonny. He could not forgive AJ's murder.

"Yeah. Michael was very open about his hatred for Sonny. He told Jason about AJ's death and about how Sonny ended up being Michael's father in the first place. Jason didn't really need the added information though. He knew enough to loath Sonny," Sam said.

"I have to tell you, I'm grateful Jason wants so little to do wit

h Sonny. I don't wanna see you and Danny brought back into that world. It's bad enough with Julian."

"I…I don't know what kind of world Danny and I are going to be a part of with Jason. I don't know where I stand with Jason," Sam said.

"What does Jason want?" Alexis asked.

"Aside from wanting to get to know Danny and now Michael, I don't think he knows. He has no memory. I know he doesn't love me. How can he? He doesn't know me," Sam said. She understood that of course, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt whenever Jason looked at her like she was nothing more than an acquaintance. She was his wife. She just wished he could see that. Again though, she understood why he couldn't.

"You don't know him either. Sam, I know you may not wanna hear this, but from what you've told me, the Jason you remember isn't here anymore. It seems you did lose him that day of the shooting, just as the Quartermaines lost their son the day of the accident. I think you're going to have to get to know this Jason and decide if you can love him the way you loved who he used to be," Alexis said.

Before Sam even had the chance to respond, Danny came running down the stairs. "Mom."

Sam turned to him. "Hey, sweetie. You ready to go?"

"Are you kidding? I didn't even wanna come," Danny said. Last night had been the longest of his life. He knew his mom sent him away for a reason. He just hoped the reason wasn't that his father was leaving.

"I love you too, sweetheart," Alexis said jokingly.

Danny turned to his grandmother. "Sorry, Grandma, it's just…"

"It's okay, honey, I get it. You wanna spend time with your father," Alexis said understandingly.

Sam stood up from the couch. "Alright, we're gonna head out before he explodes. "We'll see you soon, Mom."

Alexis stood up and hugged her daughter briefly. "You take care of yourself, alright? And think about what I said."

Sam nodded before leading her son to the door.


End file.
